Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) got into a heated exchange on Tuesday with Gov. JB Pritzker and fellow Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) at a Veterans Day event in Little Village.
Sigcho-Lopez was seen telling the governor he wanted to “talk about what we need to do to help our people.”
“What we need is a progressive income tax, a graduated income tax in this state,” Pritzker said, referring to his failed 2020 attempt to amend the Illinois constitution to create a graduated income tax. “You know that I worked very hard to get that passed when I first got elected.”
The confrontation came as Sigcho-Lopez and his colleagues on the City Council are debating how to balance the city’s 2026 budget. Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed a number of new taxes that he said would target wealthy corporations, including a $21-per-employee monthly tax on large businesses…